Since taking the job in February 2016, Nets general manager Sean Marks repeatedly has used a particular phrase — other than “Oh crap, we lost again” — in approaching the team’s rebuild.
That phrase is “talent acquisition.”

And so the rebuild continued in formal fashion Thursday when the Nets’ trade for Toronto’s DeMarre Carroll became official.

The move is part of Marks’ master plan to rebuild the Nets from the ground floor — actually from about seven stories below the basement — by acquiring young players and assets.

Yes, the Nets are taking the Raptors’ salary dump of Carroll’s two remaining years at $30.2 million, but they also receive Toronto’s first- (lottery protected) and second-round picks in 2018, all for the cost of center Justin Hamilton, who averaged 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Nets last year.

Carroll, in a TV interview during the Nets’ 85-74 summer league victory over Denver in Las Vegas, expressed his excitement about a reunion with Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, who was an assistant in Atlanta during Carroll’s time there. Atkinson is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s best teaching coaches.

“I’m happy. I’m going back to what I call family. Kenny, I’ve known him since Atlanta, he’s the one who kind of helped my game take the next level in Atlanta, so I’m just happy to get back under his wing,” said Carroll, who wore a black and white headband “by design” as he sported Nets colors.

“He’s a worker. He’s always working. He’s the only guy I know who wakes up at 5 a.m. and runs five miles every day. He’s a worker and he’s a great developer,” Carroll said. “That’s the biggest key with him — player development. I can’t wait to work with him.”

Atkinson explained what Carroll will bring.

“Defense, toughness. The simplicity of his offensive game,” Atkinson said. “He’s a catch-and-shoot guy, he knows when to cut, but really, he’s a competitor. That’s his elite skill. He competes at a high level. He’s going to be great for our culture because he works his tail off.”

The trade was made last weekend but could not be finalized until the Nets cleared up the matter of the money presented to Washington restricted free agent Otto Porter Jr. The Nets gave Porter a four-year, $106 million offer sheet, which the Wizards matched. That money cleared for the Nets midnight Thursday.

Carroll, 30, averaged 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 26.1 minutes (72 starts) for Toronto last season. Carroll, seen as a defensive specialist, signed a four-year, $58 million free-agent deal with the Raptors in 2015, but was severely hampered by a knee injury during the 2015-16 season. He simply did not regain his status and was not the defensive force he had been in Atlanta.

“I feel I’m the healthiest I’ve been in two years,” Carroll said.

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Carroll sees himself as a leader for a young Nets team that Marks has assembled. Marks, given an empty plate of assets, has done an outstanding job. The Nets previously acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers in the Brook Lopez trade. In that deal — which began with the Nets inquiring about the No. 2 pick in a request shot down probably before it was uttered in entirety — the Nets also took on the remainder of Timofey Mozgov’s deal. Mozgov still has $48 million and three years left on the four-year, $64 million contract signed last summer.

“I’m just trying to bring leadership and help these guys grow. They’re the future. You’ve got to teach them, sometimes you’ve got to go out there and lead by example and sometimes you’ve got to be vocal. I’ve been through a lot and I understand it, so I can help these guys,” Carroll said, calling the Nets “a tough feisty young group” who often “just couldn’t finish games.”

Carroll raised eyebrows when he left Toronto. He didn’t just burn some bridges, but basically nuked them. Carroll claimed “a lot of guys didn’t trust each other.”

But during the Nets’ Las Vegas excursion, guard Jeremy Lin stressed that Carroll is a good guy who had Marks’ stamp of approval.

“Sean wouldn’t go get someone who might disrupt things. So I feel like everything will be smooth,” Lin said.